Story
A history lesson on the beautifull world of Auratia =1. Creation= A World is formed At Auratia’s creation, numerous powerful elemental forces collided and combined violently in the darkness, finally converging to give birth to the mightiest beings and the symbol of Auratia. Out of utter chaos, the Dragons were born unto this world. However, they were dissatisfied with this barren and desolate world they had emerged into, so they decided to employ the great powers each of them wielded to shape this world to their liking. The First Race Yet the fateful day came when the leader of the high dragons, Morgath had expended almost all his life energy, and collapsed upon the ground. However, before he expired, he summoned two dragons to his presence, the Silver Dragon Lysaia and the Black Dragon Kronos, his closest and most trusted friends. To Lysaia, Morgath bequeathed his wisdom, and to Kronos, his strength, with the wish that they use these gifts for the good of their world. Lysaia in turn passed on this knowledge to his fellow dragons, while Kronos imbued the earth with his strength. In so doing, they prompted creatures of intelligence other than dragons to evolve on this world, and it was thus that the first humans were born - the Osira. The Grim Reaper As time passed, the high dragons reached the ends of their life cycles, but not before being blessed with numerous children. Following in the footsteps of their great leader Morgath, they also passed on their knowledge to Lysaia, and bequeathed their strength to Kronos before they departed this world. Kronos assimilated the power of other dragons by consuming the corpses of his expired brethren, but each time, he suffered excruciating pain in the process, leaving him entirely spent in mind and body. However, because this was Morgath's legacy and an honor, he never uttered a word of complaint. Gradually, as time passed and he was entrusted with the cumulative wisdom of his brothers, Lysaia's status rose among the ranks of his fellow dragons, and he came to be known among them as the Eye of Wisdom. Kronos, on the other hand, was now known as the Grim Reaper: someone to be respected, but from a distance. An Evil Thought One day, Kronos lost consciousness after eating a dragon corpse. When he awoke, he made a startling discovery: Because he had been asleep so long, he had not released the energy of the dead dragon he had consumed, and the energy had remained within his aged body, causing it to undergo certain surprising changes. His charcoal-black wings, which were full of holes, had mended themselves. His teeth, which were loose from use and age, had fallen out, and newer, sharper ones had grown back in their place. His red eyes, clouded with age, once again had that gleam that only the greatest dragons possess. In that instant of realization, thoughts formed in Kronos' mind that would bring great calamity to dragonkind. =2. The First Battle= The Devouring Dragon is Alive As time went on, Kronos let himself slip into unconsciousness ever more frequently when performing the rites of death, a fact which started to worry his old friend Lysaia. Kronos kept the energy of more and more dragons he had consumed for himself, and this caused his physical form to undergo extreme changes. A second and third set of wings appeared on his back, and a second pair of red eyes emerged in his face. His black scales, once perfectly round, had all fallen off, and circular white scales covered in thorns and steel bristles grew to replace them. This terrifying new appearance quickly caused a stir among the other dragons for Kronos had assumed the appearance of a particular breed of dragon that Morgath had warned them all of: He had become a Devouring Dragon. Locked up Lysaia did not get the chance to confront Kronos about why he had chosen this dark path, because he was soon too busy trying to find a way to prevent his old friend from consuming the entire world in a frenzy. The other dragons were quick to answer Lysaia's call to arms, and although many dragons lost their lives in battle, they finally managed to defeat Kronos and strip him of his powers. By transforming the essence of their collective wills into psychic shackles, they were able to seal the weakened dragon away in Chaugnar, at the southernmost end of Auratia. Trapped and struggling, locked in a cycle of suffering, Kronos howled in pain that he would destroy this world, and used his remaining energy to spawn a race of creatures that were entirely loyal to him—the Chaos Dragons. However, the Chaos Dragons lacked intelligence, and were unable to free him from his incarceration, and it was only after creating them that he realized that he no longer had any strength left, and all he could do was bide his time and wait. The Red Flame Millennia passed, and as those dragons who witnessed the chaos in the time of the Devouring Dragon faded away, so were the memories of the war gradually forgotten. New generations of dragons came and went until one dragon who was favored by the elemental power of fire gained power and influence. Born with blazing wings, he was the red dragon Methus, also known as "Red Flame." Methus was a young dragon with an unquenchable thirst for control, and in order to satisfy this hunger, he invaded the territories of the other dragons and forced them to pledge their allegiance to him, executing all who dared oppose him. Most of the creatures lived in fear of him, and chose to comply with his wishes, but a certain group of them were the exception: They were the progeny of the Great Creator Morgath, the Osira. A Rebellion By nature, the Osira were a freedom-loving people who respected the strong. As part of his legacy, Morgath's life force coursed through their veins, making them intrinsically more resilient and intelligent than the other creatures. Additionally, they were born with an innate ability to communicate with all other creatures that were of the dragon bloodline, and were even able to enter into contracts of partnership with them. One day, a group of Osira on their migratory routes set foot in Methus' domain, and a sequence of events was set into motion that would challenge and threaten Methus' dictatorship. When the Osira entered Methus' domain, their passion, bravery and freedom-loving ways quickly influenced the other creatures of higher intelligence living there. These other creatures gradually started to question Methus' heavy-handed oppression, and started to oppose his way of rule. Furious beyond words, he resolved to annihilate this group of pesky Osira. The Eye of Wisdom Exterminating them did not take long, but the time required to do so far exceeded Methus' expectations. In addition, some of the Osira hid themselves in territories that did not acknowledge Methus' beliefs, and to pursue his goal of annihilating every last remaining Osira, he declared war on many of the other dragons who were protecting them. Gradually, wind of these conflicts reached the ears of the last remaining dragon of creation—Lysaia, the Eye of Wisdom. He quickly appeared to intervene in this dispute, but Methus refused to back down. However, although Methus was one of the more powerful dragons, he was no match for the older "Silver Thunder" whose strength had grown with the years, and had to admit defeat. Having lost, Methus left the Sacred Lands of Anotaria, and journeyed the continent in search of like-minded dragons to join his cause. It was thus that an army opposing the "Eye of Wisdom" was formed, and this set into motion a chain of events that would lead to the start of the First Dragon War. =3. The Great Dragon Wars= The Flame unbound Undoubtedly, this clash of the great dragons shaped this realm significantly as the devastation of war had forever changed Auratia's landscape. In the end, Methus and his followers were no match for Lysaia's intellect, and a large number of the defeated dragons returned to declare their allegiance to Lysaia, but Methus was not among them. Unable to accept defeat, he chose to flee. Lysaia did not pursue him and his remaining supporters, sincerely believing that Methus would one day come to his senses and return. Yet, although defeated, Methus still had not learnt anything from everything that had happened. While on the run, he continued to seek a way to counter Lysaia's powers, until finally he and his remaining followers came to Chaugnar, where they found the Devouring Dragon Kronos, who had been imprisoned there aeons ago. The stories of Kronos' imprisonment were faded with age, and at that time Methus did not fully comprehend who Kronos was. From the only fragments of history he had been told, he remembered that Kronos possessed great power—so great that it scared even Lysaia. A Great Foolery Methus yearned to possess this elderly dragon's power, and so he and his followers started searching for a way to free the Devouring Dragon, until they made an unexpected discovery when Kronos was able to lure the dark dragon Jorbyn of the Black Swamp into coming too close—in a split second, Kronos had wolfed down his careless victim. With his newly-acquired powers, he broke through the psychic chains that bound him one by one, and having wrestled free from the ancient dragon souls which had held him for eons, he devoured them as well. It was only then that Methus remembered the legend of Kronos, and the ancient warning that Morgath had spoken before he died: "The day the Devouring Dragon consumes a true dragon shall spell the doom of dragonkind!" The Warning Although Methus immediately sent out warnings to inform the other dragons of the looming threat, Kronos had regained a large portion of his strength, and his speed and power far exceeded Methus' expectations. It was then that Methus realized in horror why the Devouring Dragon was so terrifying—he was able to acquire the abilities of his victims! Without fear or hesitation, Methus, who had already experienced hundreds of battles, soared up towards Kronos and breathed scorching flames at him, but the flames had no effect whatsoever. Kronos seized the chance to rip Methus' wings with his teeth in an attempt to force him to land. However, the blazing flames that issued forth from Methus' wings seared his face, and he could only tear off a portion of his wings before Methus was able to flee the Valley of Death. Just as Lysaia had predicted, Methus, injured and fearing for his life, returned to Anotaria, the Sacred Lands of dragonkind to warn the other dragons of the return of the Devouring Dragon. This enabled the guardian dragons to successfully mount a defense against Kronos, who had pursued Methus all the way back to the Sacred Lands. However, Kronos was able to escape capture and flee Anotaria. The Second Dragon War was soon to begin. The Shax Upon returning to the Valley of death, Kronos realized that he was too heavily injured to hunt, but he desperately needed sustenance. He sent forth the Chaos Dragons to scour the land for the remains of sub-dragons and true dragons, instructing them to bring back anything they found for his consumption. Kronos decided to employ a different, more subtle strategy, so he synthesized a deadly virus from his own bodily fluids—the Dragon Plague. The contagion swept the land, and very soon, there were almost no survivors left other than handful in Anotaria. Kronos was now constantly consuming dragon remains, and his appearance grew increasingly terrifying. After a while, Kronos realized that the Chaos Dragons were limited in what they were able to do, and started searching for allies that could help him capture live prey. This was how an alliance with the Shax was forged, an intelligent species who were notorious for their unspeakable ways. One of the more highly-developed species in Auratia, the Shax were cunning, greedy and morally corrupt by nature. Their greatest desire was to dominate all that existed, and Kronos craved to possess the power of the other dragons. It was a perfect alliance between two parties driven by raw ambition. And so from then on the Shax worshipped Kronos as a god, and in turn Kronos allowed the Shax to command his Chaos Dragon army, asking only for one thing in return—that they hunt live sub-dragons and dragons for him. To Their Friends’ Aid It was at this point in time that a group of people came before the dragons: They were none other than the Osira, the group of intelligent beings whom Lysaia and the other dragons had protected during the First Dragon War. After the first war had ended, the Osira enjoyed an even closer relationship with the dragons. Thus, they stepped forward when they became aware of this hitherto unknown danger their greatest friends and allies were facing. At Lysaia's request, Kholan, the leader of the Osira, summoned his brethren from the four corners of the known world. Kholan was the only leader whom all of the Osira recognized and respected, also known as the Great Huntsman among his people, and the only one who could command them in an organized mission. The Osira were not great in number, but their extreme resilience meant that they were unparalleled in battle. With the dragons as strategic allies, they quickly put an end to the attacks by the Shax and their Chaos Dragon army. The Undead Army Naturally, Kronos was not one to give up easily, so he created a new breed of beings to do battle for him: the Undead Dragons. In the face of this force, the Osira quickly met with defeat. Unable to restrain himself at seeing this blasphemous corruption of his fallen comrades' corpses, Lysaia summoned all the dragons and launched an all-out attack, catapulting this entire world into the Second Dragon War, a war which took place on a scale unmatched throughout the history of Auratia. In the end, Lysaia prevailed, but it was a victory that came at a great cost. He intended to employ a drastic tactic to defeat Kronos. He would have to sacrifice himself to do it. He first transferred his powers to Kholan, then tricked Kronos into swallowing him. Once he was inside Kronos, Lysaia took the opportunity to restrain Kronos with the force of his own powerful will, providing Kholan with an opening to deal Kronos the fatal blow. Unable to see beyond his thirst for revenge, Kronos fell for this carefully thought-out plan, and both his ambition and physical body were torn asunder yet again. =4. A Fragile Peace= However, both sides suffered great losses—Lysaia and Kholan paid for this victory with their lives. After the war, almost all the remaining dragons returned to Anotaria to take up residence there, but the Osira, who now had no one to unify them, returned to their nomadic ways, scattering all across the continent. The Evil Slumbers Kronos' star, however, had not fallen from the heavens. With their thirst for power unquenched, the Shax believed that the Devouring Dragon still existed somehow, and continued searching for traces of Kronos, hoping one day to reassemble the Devouring Dragon Forces, and thus enabling them some day to rule this world once more. Centuries have passed since the last great war, and the flora and fauna of Auratia have recovered from the great battles that took place. Cycles of life have renewed themselves, and all appears peaceful and serene, but far in the southernmost reaches of Auratia, in the impenetrable darkness of the Valley of Death, a pair of piercing red eyes flickers to life in the blackness—eyes filled with hate and revenge...